


When Tomorrow Starts

by snow_queen16



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Red & Green & Blue & Yellow | Pokemon Red Green Blue Yellow Versions
Genre: Adventure, Childhood Friends, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Growing Up, Moving On, Original Pokemon Trainer - Freeform, Other, Pokemon - Freeform, Pokemon Training, Slow Romance, gameverse, liberally applied headcanons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-07-15 15:54:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16066406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snow_queen16/pseuds/snow_queen16
Summary: Jack Auberon was the last Indigo League Champion, and in the eight years since his mysterious death on Cinnabar Island, not a single trainer has managed to beat the Elite Four to take his place. His daughter, Akane, languished in Pallet Town, bound by a grief she didn’t know how to process. Helping Professor Oak and his grandson, Midori, develop the Pokédex gave her a new lease on life- and a new reason to embark on her own pokémon journey.Updates Sundays!





	1. Prologue

_Cinnabar Island, September 1996_

_The creature trapped in the containment tank moved slightly, though not enough to draw the attention of the scientists scattered thinly around the lab. One tapped idly at a computer a few feet away, while the other hurriedly typed up a report, barking commands at the third._

_“Itou! Where’s that reference letter? I need it for-”_

_“Don’t get your panties in a bunch, Sam.” A woman walked across the lab, pausing by the frantic typist’s desk. She dropped a folder on top of his keyboard with a smile._

_“Junko,” he sighed in relief. “You have no idea- I need to finish this thought and then we can Fly back to Pallet. Midori will be missing us.”_

_“I just_ know _your father is letting him stay up! I swear he’s more excited than Midori is for his pokémon journey.” Junko clucked her tongue, shaking her head._

_“Not likely.” Sam laughed, glancing back at her briefly as he continued to type. Junko watched her husband with mild disinterest; she was already familiar with his theories on why the Mew-Two project had failed. She frowned; there was no reason why it shouldn’t have been a success. They had access to all the best equipment, and Mr. Giovanni had hired the best minds in the scientific community. Their theories were perfect, their methods completely sound: they’d successfully cloned several rattata before they’d attempted to clone Mew . . . But what they’d created wasn’t anything like Mew, she thought._

_It was a sickly grey, taller, with more powerful limbs and an ashy purple tail. When it had first started to grow, it looked normal. Small and pink and almost cute -but it hadn’t stopped growing when it reached Mew’s size. It got bigger and bigger until the creature towered over her and Sam and even Jack Auberon, the Champion. It was more violent than Mew, and incredibly aggressive. The few times they’d coaxed Jack into using it in test battles it was wild and vicious, and struggled to disobey, fighting to cause its opponents more harm despite the impossibility of any pokémon ignoring the Champion. Hell, it barely responded to Sam, and he had all eight Kantonian Badges. On nights he forgot to wear them, it didn’t listen to him at all, and it barely acknowledged her or the other scientists who didn’t have any. Junko felt bad keeping it locked up, but Mew-Two’s ferocious nature and determined defiance had made it a necessary precaution. Her gaze fell on the containment tank, and she gasped. The pokémon’s eyes were open, and they focused on her with a burning intensity. She felt its anger burn into her mind, swirling with utter disdain and hatred for her, for Sam, for all of humanity._

_“Sam!”_

_“What is it? I’m almost done, I swear-”_

_“Look at the tank! The pokémon- it’s staring at me!” She practically screamed it, hysteria bleeding into the fear in her voice. Junko could feel a malevolent presence settle over the lab and shuddered uncontrollably as the strange pokémon’s eyes followed hers._

_“Don’t be silly Jun, the fluid in the tank keeps it . . .” Sam trailed off as he turned to look. Its dark eyes bored into theirs, seemingly both at once, and then the glass shuddered. “Itou, stop screwing around and reformat the security lockouts on the tank. Junko, get downstairs and call Jack. Now.”_

_“Jack? But it’s past midnight, I’m sure he’s sleeping. Shouldn’t we contact Mr. Giovanni?” Junko wasn’t a fan of the man, but he was the one holding the purse strings of the project and a powerful trainer._

_“Fuck Giovanni!” Sam spat. “He can’t control that thing; Jack’s the only one who stands a chance! Who would you rather have with us if it busts out of there?” It wasn’t a question: of course she’d rather have Jack. He was probably the most powerful trainer in the history of the Indigo League, but he was also one of her and Sam’s best friends. There wasn’t anyone she trusted more to protect them._

_“You don’t seriously think-”_

_“I don’t think anything.” Sam’s mouth was a firm line. “But I’m not taking any chances.”_

_Akane tossed and turned for what felt like hours after her father left, too excited to fall back asleep. She puffed out a sigh, peeking at the small charmander snoring at the foot of her bed. It was nice for Scorch that he could sleep through the phone ringing and ringing and her dad running noisily out of the house as he said bad words under his breath. All Akane wanted was to go back to sleep and have it be tomorrow already!_

_In a few short hours, she and Midori Oak were finally going on their very own pokémon journeys. They’d promised their parents that they would stick together, but Akane hoped to travel on her own for a little- after she’d gotten her first few badges, of course._

_She sighed again, pushing back the covers and tiptoed towards the window. She hoped her father would make it home in time to see them off. Being the Champion of the whole Indigo League was a lot of responsibility and Akane knew that, but she resented when he had to go off on mysterious business. It was better than Midori’s parents being away all the time though, she thought, glancing in the direction of his house, and settled herself at the window seat. His mom and dad were scientists who worked on Cinnabar Island, but while they were close –Akane could see the sparkle of lights from Cinnabar dancing on the horizon- neither of them stayed in Pallet longer than a day or two at a time._

_The sky was clear, the stars shining brightly over the ocean. Akane smiled, her mind running wild with all the different possibilities for tomorrow. She and Midori would go visit the school and show off to all their friends who hadn’t graduated yet, then maybe go look at the Pokémon League-_

_She felt a strange shudder before she heard the explosion. Light flamed quickly on the horizon- on Cinnabar Island- and smoke slowly began to rise behind it. Akane’s heart stopped as she pressed her face and hands against the glass. Cinnabar?! That’s where Midori’s parents were, that’s where Dad had gone-_

_A shadow approached the house at an incredible speed, drawing her eyes as it zoomed over the tiled roofs. Almost as soon as she saw it, the shadow was gone, leaving Akane to stare blankly at the smoke that curled towards Pallet Town._


	2. Chapter One- Pallet Town

Pallet Town, May 2004

 

Scorch, LVL 7. Hardy nature, mischievous.

 

 

             The colors of the sunrise reflected on the ocean, the gentle waves blurring the pinks and oranges and yellows together. A girl in her late teens sat on the beach, wearing a grey tank top and jeans that had been rolled up to her knees. Her long dark hair was tied back in a ponytail, streaks of red –brick red, vibrant vintage red, cherry red- weaving through the ends. She stared out at the water, completely lost in thought. A charmander sat slightly behind her, eyeing the surf suspiciously.

             She sighed, wiggling her toes deeper into the cool sand. Yesterday, Professor Oak had finished his Pokédex. It had taken years longer than any of them had expected, but it was finally done. She took a deep breath, leaning back on her hands, feeling unsettled and unsure of what would happen next. The promise she’d made with Midori hung heavy over her head. Not that she didn’t want to start her pokémon journey, but . . .

             _“Akane! The tide is coming in,”_ the charmander whined, tugging at her back. Akane chuckled, leaning into the small claws scrabbling on her shirt.

             “Scorch, you baby.” she said, and scratched his head affectionately. “We should get back soon, anyway. I bet Mom has breakfast made,” She stood, brushing sand from the back of her jeans, and gave the ocean a last, regretful look as she slipped into her flip-flops.

             The two walked in silence as they left the beach and entered the city proper. Not that Pallet Town could be called a city; it had the lowest population in all of Kanto, probably Johto too. There weren’t any shops, not even a general store, and the closest thing they had to a Pokémon Center was Professor Oak’s lab. He was always happy to let people use his healing machine, though there wasn’t much need for it. There wasn’t a Gym in the town, and most of the scarce hundred people living there were retirees; retired from battling, from business, from life.

             At just past dawn, the streets were empty of people and pokémon; Mr. Larkin and his growlithe, out for their early morning walk, the only exception. He grunted, nodding and tipping his hat as they passed. Akane smiled, bowing slightly, grateful for the old man’s taciturn nature. She wasn’t in the mood for conversation, not this morning. It was the last morning she had here, wasn’t it? She stopped, lingering at the corner. One street led to the lab, the other gently wound to her mother’s small cottage on the outskirts (as if Pallet Town was populated enough for anything to qualify as ‘outskirts’) near Route One.

             Hesitantly, Akane turned towards home, Scorch trotting obediently behind her. She didn’t want to leave. It felt wrong to admit it; she felt guilty and indulgent for even contemplating staying in Pallet. A promise was a promise, she thought with a determined grimace. It wasn’t as if Mom needed her around, and now that Professor Oak didn’t need her help . . . She’d be a burden, laying around the house and playing SNES all day. The daughter of the last Indigo League Champion couldn’t wallow in self-pity and grief any longer, could she?

             _“I smell Kalosian toast!”_ Scorch said excitedly, running ahead of her as the cottage came into view. Akane let him go, content to walk the last few feet alone. It was a cute little house, she mused. White picket fences, honeysuckle and sweet pea vines clinging to the brick of the two-storey building, though neatly trimmed and kept well away from the tidy white shutters and door. Mom had always told her how much she loved it; her father had it built the minute she’d told him she was pregnant. They’d been living in Saffron City in a posh neighborhood in a fancy loft apartment then, she told her. Suitable for newlyweds, but not for a new family; at least according to her father. So he’d bought a little parcel of land near the town he’d grown up in, close to his mother (who had passed not long after her son) and his closest friend, Dr. Sam Oak, Jr. Growing up, it had felt like a fairytale. Sickeningly in love parents, spoiled rotten with presents and attention; battle and training lessons from Dad, traditional Johtoan tea ceremony lessons from Mom. Of course, that was all before-

             “Akane, there you are!” Her mother’s smiling voice cut through her thoughts as she stepped into the kitchen. She stood behind the stove, a crisp white apron over her navy kimono, the sleeves carefully tucked up to avoid dirt. Her hair, the same dark almost-black as her daughter’s, was swept neatly into a bun. Akane waved, grinning, and let her melancholy feelings disperse. “Don’t worry, I saved you some Kalosian toast. You’re lucky, Blackie and Scorch almost snatched it all.” She chuckled, nodding to the umbreon sharing a large platter of said toast with Scorch. A bellsprout, Bloom, sat in a sunny patch nearby, nibbling berries.

             “You didn’t have to save me any,” Akane said, taking a seat at the kitchen table. “I don’t know if I can eat anything.”

             “Nervous?” She smiled, setting a plate piled high with toast coated in copious amounts of syrup and powdered sugar, topped with razz and bluk berries. Akane shrugged, flushing.

             “I shouldn’t be. I was so excited when I was ten, you’d think that I’d be raring to go now,” she said, half-heartedly taking a fork and poking a berry. Her mother clucked her tongue, and set a cup of coffee in front of her, which Akane eagerly took.

             “A lot has happened since you were ten.” she said evenly, and took a seat opposite her. Akane stayed silent, sipping her coffee. “I almost took you back to Ecruteak with me, you know.”

             “What? Like, we almost moved to Johto?” Akane set her cup down, stunned by the news. Her mother nodded.

             “After your grandmother died, I wanted to get away from all the bad memories. You were having a hard time dealing with your grief, and I wasn’t helping any . . . I thought that if I closed up the house and went home, we’d all be happier.”

             “What changed your mind?” she said. Her mother laughed.

             “The day I’d decided to bring it up, you came home all excited about Professor Oak’s newest idea.”

             “The Pokédex,”

             “Yes. You were so thrilled at the idea of helping out, I couldn’t bear to say anything. I thought you’d get bored of it in a week or two, so I put the talk of moving aside until then. But you never got bored of it,”

             “It was fun.” Akane said with a shrug, thinking of all the work she and Midori had done. Mostly, it was catching rattata and pidgey and helping the Professor and his assistants measure and weigh them. She’d helped with the data entry too, uninterested in the programming details the way Midori was. But it had been something to do, something that Professor Oak had actually paid her for surprisingly enough. “Are you going to leave now that I’m . . . ?” She trailed off, shrugging, and continued to poke at her toast.

             “I don’t know. I might go visit.” Her mother sipped her coffee. “I hate to leave, though. It was easy to think of leaving when it hurt . . . But this is the place Jack and I were happiest. I don’t think he’d want me to abandon it for good.”

             “Does- does it not hurt anymore?” Akane said, timid. She didn’t like to talk about her father’s death, or her own grief. She’d always thought her mother was the same way, and had avoided the topic whenever she could. The first few years after the accident on Cinnabar, the two of them had existed in a shroud of foggy sadness, permeating through everything and stunting what it touched. Her grandmother’s death had capped it, somehow overloading Akane’s sense of loss and dulling everything, finally allowing her to move forward; though she still struggled with the guilt she’d felt about being happy when her mother was still wreathed in sorrow. How were you supposed to deal with your grieving mother? Akane had never been able to answer that satisfactorily, and it had been a relief when she’d begun to smile again as well.

             “It doesn’t if I don’t think about the bad things.” she said, staring at the table. “I’ve come to accept there’s nothing I could have done to change it, so I try to focus on the happy memories. But enough of me! Are you packed yet?”

             “Mostly.” Akane forced herself to take a bite, the thick sweetness stirring her appetite. “I just need to stop in Viridian to renew my license and grab some extra balls.”

             “Don’t forget antidotes, either. Your father always warned you about the weedles in Viridian Forest.” her mother cautioned. Akane snorted, shoving another bite of toast in her mouth.

             “Yes, _Mother_.”

             “Don’t start with me, young lady!” she said primly, before dissolving into laughter.

 

 

                 Akane looked in the mirror, bending down to tug at the legs of her jeans self-consciously. Straightening, she smoothed out the denim, continuing to appraise herself. Her new black hightops, new but broken in so she could walk without too many blisters, looked all right, as did the dusty blue jeans she wore; boot-cut, with just enough material around the ankles that she was satisfied. She hated skinny jeans. She’d replaced her grey tank top with a blank black t shirt and a red short sleeved jacket. The collar and sleeves were black, as was the trim above the pockets (two at the waist) and the stylized pokéball design on the back. She’d also gotten a trainer’s essential accessory; fingerless gloves -hers were a dark charcoal grey with a cherry-red trim. She also wore two belts slung over her hips; a black one on her right where Scorch’s pokéball was attached, and that also held five more empty places. The white one, on the left, was completely blank. Akane traced a fingertip along the leather, imagining the badges she hoped to win. Flushing, she quickly dropped her hand. What was that saying about counting your pidgeys before they hatched?

             Sighing, she tugged at her ponytail, laying it across one shoulder, her fingers tangling the different shades of red. What she wore should be the least of her worries, but there was a thread of vanity that ran through her, heightened by the fact that her mother had been a kimono girl when she was eighteen. She looked okay, didn’t she? Tramping through forests and caves didn’t require a full kimono and tabi, Akane told herself. It wasn’t practical, nor was it comfortable.

             “There you are!” Her mother rapped quickly on the opened door before stepping inside. “I was going through my closet the other day, and I found this.” She held out a shabby baseball cap. It was a worn, washed-out red, with a black bill and front panel which had faded to a sedate grey. ‘ _Champion’_ was embroidered on the front underneath the symbol for the Indigo League, the thread still a brilliant red.

             “Dad’s hat?” she murmured, barely daring to take it. It was a one-of-a-kind, specially made for the League Champion only.

             “He’d want you to have it, Akane.” her mother said softly.

             “I don’t know if he’d want me to _wear_ it.” she said, hesitant. “It feels like bad luck. I’m not a champion,”

             “Not yet.”

             “Mother!” Akane said, scandalized, and rushed to knock on her wooden dresser. Her mother only smiled.

             “Take it with you, even if you don’t want to wear it.” she said. Akane frowned, tracing her fingers along the embroidery. Dad had let her wear it sometimes when she was younger, though it had fallen down around her eyes, obscuring her vision unless she pushed it all the way to the back of her head. Tentatively, she threaded her ponytail through the hole in the back and pulled it on. She turned back to the mirror, frowning as she adjusted the brim and pulled at her bangs. “It suits you.”

             “Thanks,” Akane said, flushing as she looked back at her mother. She’d forgotten she was still standing there.

             _“Hey Akane, when are we leaving? I want to gooooo!”_ Scorch said, jumping off the bed. Smoke spiraled out of his nostrils as he grinned.

             “You should get going, dear. You said you were meeting Midori at the lab at ten, weren’t you?”

             “Shit! I’m running late, aren’t I?” Akane groaned, glancing at the alarm clock on her nightstand.

             “Your bag is downstairs; I put some extra snacks in it for you and Scorch.” She pulled Akane into a hug. “Remember to call when you can, okay? I’m going to worry if you don’t.”

             “I’ll remember, Mom.” Akane said, squeezing her tighter. “Aren’t you coming with us to the lab?”

             “No, I don’t think- I’ll probably cry, watching the both of you leave.” She laughed, patting Akane’s back before moving away. “Take care, Akane. I love you.”

             “I love you too. Good bye,” she said, forcing herself to smile even though she felt like crying herself. Saying goodbye to her mother accentuated her anxiety about leaving, but she did her best not to let it show. Giving her mother a final hug, Akane motioned to Scorch and the two of them thundered down the stairs. She paused in the kitchen, giving Blackie and Bloom goodbye head scratches before grabbing her backpack and heading out the door.

             Akane jogged down the dirt road, following it as it joined the paved street where Oak’s lab was. The streets were more populated than they had been at sunrise, but Pallet Town refused to bustle. She smiled at the people she passed, trying to ignore their cheerful wishes of good luck. It was a small town where everyone knew everyone else, and they all knew everyone’s business. It didn’t bother her when it came to listening to gossip, but it was uncomfortable when the whole town knew everything she was doing and why. But that was over today, she thought, and pushed through the double doors and into Oak’s lab.

            

             It was a large, open room, separated into two parts by large bookcases. Lab tables laid to the right, where one of Oak’s underlings, Dana, was busy with a microscope. Shigeru and Jake, Oak’s other assistants, sat at the computer terminals on the opposite side.

             “You’re late!” Jake called, laughing at her as she walked past. Akane stuck her tongue out at him, Scorch copying the gesture as he trotted behind her. Dana was kind of frosty, but the boys were nice enough. The three of them were grad students at the university in Viridian, not that much older than she and Midori were. Jake liked to flirt and had even asked her out on a few casual dates, though neither of them took it seriously. Akane suspected that was the reason Dana disliked her, but she didn’t care. If she didn’t have the courage to ask him out it wasn’t her problem.

             “Red! There you are, you slacker.” Midori smirked at her as she walked between the bookcases to the professor’s enclave in the back. Akane blushed at the nickname, gripping the straps of her backpack more tightly. Since she started dyeing her hair in an ombre of reds when she was thirteen, his half-teasing, half-affectionate nickname was all he called her.

             “I got distracted, sorry,”

             “Not a problem my dear.” Professor Oak stood, smiling as he walked out from behind his computer. The healing machine lay to its left, with more bookcases behind it. A large lab table stood on the right side of the room, with two small, red items laying on the top; the prototype Pokédexes. “Go ahead, take them. It’s thanks to your hard work that I was able to finish at all.” He gestured to the table, his eyes never leaving the Pokédexes as he spoke. Akane met Midori’s eyes, then took the few final steps to stand beside him.

             “You first.” she said, nudging his shoulder. It was only fair; the Pokédex was the culmination of three generations of the Oak family’s work. The brainchild of the Professor, it might have stayed a dream if his son hadn’t been toying with practical designs before his death. The blueprints had been pushed aside when Mr. Giovanni, the Viridian Gym Leader, had hired him and Midori’s mother for some mysterious project. Professor Oak had only rediscovered them two years after the accident on Cinnabar.

             “Yeah,” Midori muttered, swallowing heavily before reaching out to take one. Satisfied, Akane took the other one, flipping it open like a book.

             “The both of you should know the basics of how the Pokédex works.” Professor Oak said, crossing his arms. “Catch or scan a pokémon to bring up the data we already have. As you know, we’ve only input the basic information on all the pokémon native to the Kanto region, so whenever you meet a new pokémon you’ll need to scan it. The more scans you take of a single species, the better data you’ll collect! I’ve included a keyboard so you two can add any notes you feel are necessary.”

             “What happens if I scan a pokémon not native to Kanto?” Akane said, thinking of her mother’s umbreon. While eevee was native to Kanto, umbreon and espeon were practically unknown, most trainers using an evolutionary stone before their bond became close enough for their eevee to evolve.

             “Good question!” Oak said. “Of course, there are far more than the 149 native pokémon but due to memory limitations and time restraint, we couldn’t program them all in. If you try scanning a non-native pokémon, the only thing that will come up is an error screen, I’m afraid. But hopefully with your field tests, I can develop a better model next time!”

             “My help will be better than Red’s,” Midori said, smirking. Akane rolled her eyes, shoving his shoulder lightly.

             “I can still kick your ass Midori, pokémon battle or fistfight.” she said playfully.

             “Oh yeah?” Midori grinned, his eyes narrowing as he tapped the pokéball on his belt. “Let’s test that hypothesis, huh?”

             “Battle here?” Akane said, surprised.

             “Normally I would say no, but I added a few surprises for the two of you.” Professor Oak smiled eagerly at them. “When you scan a pokémon, you should be able to read its moves, HP, and level. Since both your pokémon are relatively low levels, it should be fine to have a quick test battle here.”

             “You’re sure?” Akane said, still hesitant. Low levels or not, it was never a good idea to battle indoors. Professor Oak waved her away.

             “Of course! I want to see how well it works.”

             “Don’t be a scardy-meowth.” Midori grabbed the pokéball at his waist, pressing the button in the center to enlarge it. “Or you just afraid of losing?”

             “Please,” Akane said, snorting, and motioned Scorch to step in front of her. Midori smirked at her, throwing the ball and releasing his squirtle in a glow of red light. Akane paused, taking the time to scan Scorch and review his moves. Scratch and growl, not anything exciting, but she knew Shellie didn’t know any special moves yet either.

             “Tail whip!” Midori shouted, pointing dramatically at Scorch. Shellie smirked as she moved to obey. Raising an eyebrow, Akane pressed ‘scratch’ on the Pokédex’s screen. Scorch stiffened, looking back at her for a split second before obeying.

             “Interesting,” Akane murmured, smiling as she pressed it again. Scorch obeyed without question, dodging Shellie’s tackle and giving her another scratch.

             “Gramps, you didn’t tell us it could do that!” Midori whined, glaring back at his grandfather as he quickly pressed buttons on his Pokédex. Professor Oak only smiled.

             “One more time!” Akane said, her eyes glinting as the squirtle’s HP depleted. Scorch moved without hesitation, getting caught by a tackle but delivering the final blow without falling. Midori swore, flushing at the scattered applause coming from behind Akane as he recalled Shellie.

             “Good job, Akane!” Jake said, grinning at her as she looked back. Catching her eyes, he winked.

             “Thanks,” she said, laughing, her cheeks lightly pink as she returned Scorch to his ball.

             “Here, let me see your pokémon.” Professor Oak said, placing the balls in the healing machine after the two of them had handed them over. “A splendid battle! You both made good use of the Pokédex, I see.”

             “Yeah, whatever.” Midori said, crossing his arms across his chest. “How’d you know pushing the attack would work like that?”

             “I guessed.” Akane said with a shrug.

             “You’ve always been lucky,” Midori grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Hey, before we head out, Daisy said she wanted us to stop and say goodbye. She says she’s got a present for us.”

             “Um, all right.” Akane said, smiling at Professor Oak as he handed her Scorch’s ball. Almost immediately, she released him.

             _“Thanks! It’s so much more fun walking with you.”_

             “Of course! I think it’s more fun too,” she said, reaching down to scratch him. Midori snorted, shaking his head.

             “C’mon. The house is on the way to Route One, anyway.”

             “Wait!” Professor Oak said, and pulled the both of them into a large ursaring hug. “Have fun!  Keep me updated on the Pokédex, and don’t forget to enjoy yourselves too.” He patted Akane on the shoulder as he released them, ruffling his grandson’s hair.

             “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Smell ya later,” Midori said, his face flushed, and grabbed Akane’s hand.

             “Goodbye, Professor!” she said, giggling as Midori dragged her out of the lab. She waved to Oak’s interns as they passed, pretending to catch the kiss Jake blew her and ignored Dana’s glare.

             “Arceus they’re irritating,” Midori muttered. He kept hold of her hand as they stepped out into the sunshine. Without much thought, Akane twined her fingers between his. She wouldn’t call their relationship romantic, the odd kiss or two regardless. Midori was her best friend, and Akane didn’t think that either of them wanted more than what they already had.

             “Did your sister mention what she got us?” she said, relaxed as they walked down the dirt path to the Oaks’ house. Midori shrugged.

             “Nah, you know what she’s like. I’m pretty sure it’s a map, though.” Akane nodded, looking up at the fluffy white clouds that scattered across the brilliant blue of the sky. A couple pidgey flew overhead, squawking loudly at each other. “Hey, I know you said you wanted to travel alone, but do you think we could-”

             “Midori,” Akane said, frowning. “I mean, I don’t mind going with you to Viridian but I kind of want to do this by myself. I told you that,”

             “Fine.” Midori spat, his cheeks flaring a deep red, and threw her hand out of his. “I get it.” He stomped ahead, his fists clenching at his sides. Akane sighed, looking down at the path as he stormed off.

             _“What’s his problem?”_ Scorch said, smoke curling out of his nostrils as he snorted.

             “He’s upset that we want to do this alone.” she said.

             _“You’ve been telling him that forever! Doesn’t he understand about-?”_

“I thought he did.” Akane murmured, wondering at his outburst. It wasn’t as if her desire to travel alone was new. As soon as Professor Oak had mentioned the Pokédex was nearing completion, she’d told Midori she needed to go on her journey alone. She thought she’d been clear it had nothing to do with him, but like Mom said, boys were more sensitive than they liked to admit. Akane shook her head, reluctantly following him towards the house.


	3. Chapter Two: Route One - Virdian City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, forgot to upload this yesterday!

Scorch; charmander, LVL 7. Hardy nature, mischievous.

 

 

             Akane and Scorch made their way down Route One’s grassy, sunlit path. The two of them had traversed it plenty of times; shopping trips to Viridian with her mother or Daisy, running the occasional errand or three for Professor Oak, a few casual dates with Jake, though those mostly amounted to tours of Viridian University and talk of the Pokédex over lunch. And, of course, the years she and Midori had gone to the trainers’ school, located right in the center of the city. Back then, Daisy would walk them to school and unless he was busy with his duties as Champion, her father would pick them up and Fly them home on his charizard, Scoville. There was nothing more thrilling than those flights, Akane remembered fondly. She snuck a glance at Scorch, impatient for him to evolve.

             The walk seemed shorter, though Akane had to admit her bad mood spurred her to walk faster than normal. Midori’s attitude earlier had soured her own. His childishness irritated her; she’d told him many times that she wanted to go on her journey alone- that she needed to. It wasn’t simply the coming-of-age trek most kids took at ten years old. She was going to follow her father’s path, carve her name on the statues in the Gyms he’d beaten, and hopefully, one day . . . Hopefully, following in her father’s footsteps would lend her some measure of closure. The grief over his death had lessened in the eight years since from an ugly gaping wound to a more sedate throb, but the sharpness of her memories of him, of them together, hadn’t dulled. If she could do this for him -do it for herself- then maybe she’d finally be able to collect a measure of peace.

             _“Are we going to stop at the Viridian Gym first?_ ” Scorch said, blowing smoke out of his nostrils with an excited grin. Akane smiled.    

             “No, not yet. Dad always said that Mr. Giovanni was the hardest for him to beat, and it’d be a huge type disadvantage for us right now. Besides, you know they Gym’s been closed the last few years. Mr. Giovanni’s been missing since the accident on Cinnabar.” she said. Scorch nodded, absently tugging on a stalk of grass as they walked.

             _“What are we going to do if he’s not back by the time we’re done beating the other Gyms? If no one’s seen him in the last eight years I doubt he’s going to turn up now._ ”

             “Yeah, you’re right there. Midori and I talked about going to Johto to get the last badge- that’s what most people have been doing.”

             _“You and Midori, huh?_ ” Scorch pouted, sending a puff of smoke in her direction. _“Was this during one of your_ private _movie nights?_ ”

             “Jeez! That was like two years ago,” Akane blushed, looking squarely ahead. Just after her sixteenth birthday, Midori had taken her to the beach for a picnic, though she’d only realized halfway through that he’d meant it to be romantic. She’d gone along with it; Midori was cute and they got along well. So they’d went on a few more dates –including the private movie nights Scorch and Shellie hadn’t been invited to- where they’d shared a few awkward kisses. Things had fizzled out between them almost a month and a half later, leaving Akane with a strange mixture of relief and disappointment. “Hey, what was that?”

             _“You’re just trying to change the subject!_ ” Scorch huffed, but Akane shook her head, pointing to a stretch of long grass beyond the curve of the path that shook violently. Before she could speak, it exploded with squawks and feathers as a spearow desperately flew out of it, followed closely by four pidgey. The pidgey were furious, screeching incomprehensibly at the spearow as they chased it up the path, closing in quickly and attacking with vicious pecks and scratches until it dropped out of the air. It skidded to a halt a few feet in front of her and Scorch, a pained ‘squaw’ barely passing from its beak before the pidgey set on it again.

             “Hey! Get away from it!” Akane shouted, running up the path and vigorously waving her arms. The pidgey seemed too preoccupied to pay any attention- at least, not until she began kicking up small clouds of dust and gravel from the path. Scorch quickly joined her, growling menacingly and blowing small flames. Faced with two larger, more ferocious opponents, the pidgey squawked and sent a few small whirlwinds at them, but beat a hasty retreat in the direction they’d come from.

             _“It doesn’t look good, Akane._ ” Scorch said, frowning as he peered at the other pokémon. Akane knelt beside it, her eyebrows knitting together as she did her best to assess the damage. A number of small cuts and plucked feathers that bled, including a rather nasty gash going across one eye. Its left wing twisted awkwardly beneath it, the angle so sharp that Akane was certain it was broken.

             “I’ve got a potion with me, but I don’t know how much it’ll help,” she murmured, quickly digging through her backpack. Pulling out the small spray bottle, Akane used it without hesitation.

             _“We should take it to the Pokémon Center! We’re really close to Viridian now, and there’s one right near the road in!”_

             “You’re right.” Akane dropped the empty potion into her backpack, catching sight of her pokéballs. She bit her lip, fingering them reluctantly. If she caught it, it would be far easier to run into Viridian with the spearow and Scorch in pokéballs, and it would save time healing it- if it was in a ball, the nurse could simply put it in the healing machine. There were options for healing wild pokémon, but they weren’t always as effective and definitely weren’t as quick. Muttering curses under her breath, Akane took out a ball and gently tossed it at the spearow. As the ball bounced off its chest, the spearow cawed weakly before turning into red light which disappeared inside it. It shook once, feebly, before glowing to signify the pokémon was caught.

             _“You caught it?_ ” Scorch sounded offended.

             “I didn’t have that many options!” Akane snapped, her face lightly flushed. Spearow was far from her first choice when it came to bird pokémon- or any pokémon for that matter. “I’ll get it healed at the Pokémon Center, then release it out by Victory Road or something. Come on, you get in your ball too, I can run faster by myself.” Without waiting for a reply, Akane took his ball from her belt and recalled him.

 

             Akane considered herself in decent shape, but the remainder of Route One was all uphill. A gentle incline assuredly, but the steadiness of the upward path ate away at Akane’s lungs, burning as she ran through the increasingly clustered buildings that signified the Viridian outskirts. The tiles of all the roofs were varying shades of the same slate blue-green, some darker or lighter depending how long they’d been bleached by the sun. Pallet Town was favoured by the elderly because of its temperate weather, but barely an hour’s walk north, Viridian shared the warm temperatures and abundance of sunshine. The roof of the Pokémon Center, however, was kept a bright pinkish red; a beacon to trainers and anyone else with pokémon in need of help. Akane quickly found it in the green sea of the other buildings, and put on a last burst of speed.

             Spearow was technically fine in its pokéball, locked into a stasis-like state of energy where its injuries couldn’t be felt or worsen. She’d asked Scorch many times what it was like inside a pokéball, and he’d assured her it was pleasant- sort of. There was a range of mountains, though he’d told her that as he’d gotten older, the landscape had changed to look more like Pallet Town. Food appeared whenever he felt hungry, as did a comfortable place to rest or a punching bag and other toys. Time passed through in a haze, and he was never quite sure how long he stayed there. Being sent through a healing machine made a soft rain fall, though the drops evaporated before hitting the flame on his tail. Scorch always assured her it wasn’t bad enough inside to dislike, though he admitted it was lonely. Akane hated to think of Spearow or any other pokémon in pain, paused or not, and was eager to get it healed and back in its natural habitat. It was odd to see one on Route One; from Professor Oak’s research, spearow preferred rockier terrain like Route 22. It wasn’t that far away, but why-? She dismissed the thoughts as she ran into the Pokémon Center.

             There was one trainer in line in front of the healing counter, and despite her impatience, she knew it was lucky there wasn’t more of a crowd. She forced herself to take deep, slow breaths as she wound down from her run, shifting from foot to foot. Thankfully, the nurse worked quickly, and Akane had rushed up to the counter barely before the other trainer had collected his balls.

             “I’m sorry, can you please heal my pokémon?” Akane said, cringing inwardly as her breath still rasped. She unfastened Spearow’s ball and then Scorch’s, setting them eagerly in the proffered tray.

             “Of course, my dear.” she said, taking the pokémon with a professional smile. She set the tray on the base of the machine. “Just one second- hey! This spearow is in terrible shape!” The nurse turned to glare at her, gesturing at the computer display where Scorch and the spearow’s vitals were displayed.

             “I know, I got here as fast as I could-”

             “That’s no excuse! A trainer should know better than to use such force to catch a pokémon! I’m going to need to see your trainer license, miss. I’m required by law to report cases like this to the League.” she said coldly. Akane bristled.

             “Hey! I didn’t do this, I’d _never_ treat a pokémon that way! I was on my way down Route One when a bunch of pidgey came out of the grass, chasing it! My charmander and I scared them off, but they’d already hurt it pretty badly.”

             “How absurd, pidgey aren’t that vicious! What a terrible thing, telling such lies!” the nurse wagged her finger in her face, and Akane ground her teeth, swallowing the urge to snap at her.

             “Actually, a nesting pidgey is far more violent than most people expect.” Akane sneered. “When protecting a clutch of eggs, pidgey can be highly excitable, and are willing to chase the would be predator great distances.”

             “Oh _honestly-_ ” Akane glared, whipping open her jacket and pulling out the Pokédex. As calmly as she could, she set it on the counter. She had her old license with her, though it had expired a few weeks ago. She’d been meaning to head back up to the school to have it renewed, but hadn’t found the time between prepping for her journey and last minute help with the Pokédex, which was bound to be more impressive anyway -and Akane wanted to impress this snotty nurse.

             “Do you know what that is?” she said, gesturing at the small red device. The nurse frowned, picking it up. “I assume you’ve heard of Professor Oak? Of course you have, living so close to Pallet Town and all. And if you’ve heard of the Professor, you _must_ have heard about his pet project.”

             “This is a Pokédex?” the nurse said skeptically, though Akane noted a tremor of nerves as she flipped open the case. It glowed brightly, mechanically announcing that there were no pokémon in the area to scan. “That can’t be, Oak said in the interview with Saffron News last week that there was months left of beta testing,”

             “You’re looking at the beta tester. I’ve spent years helping him with research for the ‘dex, and now I’m one of two trainers sent out to fully field test it.” Akane snapped, snatching back the Pokédex. “My name is Akane Auberon. You can call the Professor and ask him if you like.”

             “I’m still going to need to see your trainer’s license before I can give you back your pokéballs.” the nurse said archly, straightening to her full height. Akane winced, mentally cursing the petty bureaucracy. She knew the rules were in place for a reason, but nonetheless it irked her to be on the wrong side of that line. She put the Pokédex back in her pocket, reluctantly pulling out her ID and handing it to her. The nurse snorted, smirking as she read it.

             “This is expired. It’s a serious violation to catch pokémon without a valid license, you know. And using such force to catch pokémon and then _lying-_ ”

             “Here,” Akane turned, surprised to see Midori standing behind her. Giving her a grin, he tossed a card on the counter. “Use mine for now, all right? I know it’s against regulations, but Grandpa is in a good mood today and I’d hate to be the one to burst his bubble with stupid bullshit like this.”

             “Grand- oh! _Oh_.” The nurse’s eyes flicked from the license to Midori, her face paling as two spots of bright red bloomed on her cheeks. “Of course, Mr. Oak. One moment,” she said, her voice tight. She gently handed back the card, avoiding so much as a glance in Akane’s direction. Without another word, she retrieved the tray with Akane’s pokéballs and set it gently in front of her.

             “Thanks babe,” he said offhandedly, raising his eyebrows at Akane as he snickered. The nurse scowled, but kept her eyes down. Akane laughed openly, attaching Spearow’s ball to her belt and releasing Scorch.

             _“Did we make it okay? Is that spearow all right?_ ” he said, rushing up to tug at her jeans. Akane bent, scratching his head.

             “Don’t worry, Spearow should be fine now.”

             “That was about a _spearow_?” Midori said derisively, trotting behind her and Scorch as they headed towards the door. Akane blushed.

             “Hey, it was in trouble! What would you have done?”

             “Whatever.” Midori huffed, pushing open the door and half-heartedly holding it for her. “Did you run into it on Route One? That’s odd.”

             “I know, right?” Akane sighed, shaking her head as she crossed her arms. “I’ll have to ask what it was doing out there when I go to release it.” Midori stopped, snorting as he gave her a look. Akane stuck her tongue out at him.

             “Don’t forget to tell Gramps. And if you have to name drop to get yourself out of trouble, use your own.” Midori said with a laugh.

             “The Professor is way more famous than Dad ever was.”

             “Yeah, okay.” Midori rolled his eyes. “He held the Indigo League Championship for twelve years running, and there _still_  hasn’t been a trainer who can even clear the Elite Four!”

             “Be that as it may, she obviously didn’t care. Or notice, I guess, since she must’ve read my name. The Pokédex was my best option.” Akane said, feeling her face flush as she began to walk toward the Trainer School.

             “Tsk tsk, catching pokémon without a valid license . . . I’ll have to report you to the League.” Midori snickered.

             “Still that mad, huh?” Akane said lightly, glancing over her shoulder at him. A shadow seemed to cross over his face, but Midori quickly shrugged it off.

             “I’m not mad.” He sighed, focusing on his sneakers as they continued to walk. “I’m sorry I stormed off before, all right? I just- damn it, Red.”

             “What?”

             “I . . . I’m going to beat all eight gyms before you do, and get to the Elite Four first. When I’m Champion I’ll tell you.” he said, his voice strangely serious. Midori’s deeply green eyes met hers and blushing, Akane turned away.

             “If you do, I’ll be impressed.” she said softly.

             “I know.” Midori smirked at her before pulling her into a hug. “Good luck with Brock, you’ll need it.”

             “Thanks,” she said, too flustered to be snarky. She held him tightly, then slowly pulled back. “Um, Midori-”

             “Smell ya, Red!” he said, slipping out of her arms. With barely a backwards glance, he waved over his shoulder and jogged off. Akane watched as he strode confidently away, unsure of what exactly had just happened.

             _“What do you think he wants to tell you?_ ” Scorch said, pulling her out of her reverie. Akane shrugged, finally dragging her eyes away.

             “I have no idea. Midori is good at keeping secrets if he wants to.”

             _“Hmm. I think I might have a guess_.”  

             “What?”

             _“If you can’t figure it out, I’m not going to tell you._ ” Scorch giggled, smoke puffing from his nostrils. Akane glared at him.

             “Don’t make stuff up to get attention, it won’t work.” she said haughtily. “Let’s go to the school and get my license renewed, then head out to Route 22 to get rid of that spearow.”

 

             Much to Akane’s dismay, the secretary at the Trainers School remembered her, and she and Scorch were forced into a lengthy conversation with the elderly woman as she recalled every bit of mischief she’d gotten into as a child. After nearly a half hour of reminiscing, Akane was finally able to extract herself and hurry towards the Western exit.

             It was almost noon, and the sun shone brightly overhead. Akane and Scorch enjoyed the warmth as they followed the main road out of the city. Traffic on Route 22 was always slow, except during the few times a year exhibition matches were held at League Headquarters. While challenges to the Elite Four took place in private (albeit taped to air later on TV), the sixteen Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, and the Champion would meet once a year to discuss League business and hold some battles that were open to the public. There were also meetings and exhibition matches set between the Kanto and Johto Gyms during various times of the year.

             Currently, there weren’t any special meetings going on, so the road to the Pokémon League was all but empty. Akane and Scorch made their way through the long grass on the side of the road, climbing up a small rocky ledge without much effort. There, Akane took the pokéball from her belt and released the spearow. It blinked quickly, its head swiveling around as it gauged its surroundings. It puffed up its feathers, turning a cautious eye towards Scorch before focusing on Akane.

             _“You’re the one who scared those pidgey off._ ”

             “Yep!” Akane smiled brightly as the spearow’s eyes narrowed. “I’m sorry I had to catch you, but it was the easiest way to bring to the Pokémon Center to be healed. Scorch and I brought you back here, though, if you want to go free.”

             _“Free?_ ”

             _“Yeah, free. You can go back and live in the wild, do whatever you want, just like you did before. Except maybe not fight pidgey on Route One. You kind of suck at that.”_

             “Scorch! That’s not nice,” Akane chided, nudging the charmander with the toe of her sneaker. He only shrugged.

             _“He’s right though._ ” The spearow sighed, his feathers gently deflating.

             “Any pokémon would struggle taking on four opponents at once, even Scorch!” Akane said quickly. The spearow snorted.

             _“Well, thanks. Humans have names, right? Do you have one?”_

             “Er, yeah. My name is Akane,” she said hesitantly. She’d assumed that once the spearow heard he could go free, he would’ve been gone.

             _“Akane. I like it._ ” The spearow squawked happily. _“Give me a good name like that one.”_

 _“What do you want a name for? We said you were free!”_ Scorch glared at him, blowing smoke from his nostrils.

             _“You said I could go free if I wanted, and I don’t want to._ ” he said, huffily. _“I flew to Route One to look for a human to travel with, and I found you. So give me a name!_ ” Akane met Scorch’s eyes with trepidation. This was a problem she hadn’t counted on. She could tell Scorch was waiting for her to put her foot down, to tell the spearow in no uncertain terms that it wasn’t welcome. He flapped his wings eagerly, letting out a few quiet chirpy sounds as he stared intently at her.

             “Hmm, a name?” she murmured, crossing her arms across her chest as she thought, refusing to look in Scorch’s direction. It wasn’t a bad looking spearow, in fact, he was probably a bit larger than average. Now that he was healed, his feathers had a healthy, glossy sheen, and his eyes had a sharp, focused glint. “Gustav.”

             _“Gustav?_ ´ Scorch and the spearow said in unison.

             “Yeah, get it? Gust-av?” Akane giggled, pleased with her wordplay.

             _“You’re keeping him? I thought you said that you wanted a pidgey if you had to get a flying type-”_

             “Well, yeah, I said that.” Akane said, uncomfortably glancing at the spearow. “But he said he wants to come! He was looking for a trainer, and then we rescued him- it’s like fate.”

             _“Fate?”_ Scorch groaned, burying his face between his small claws. Gustav squawked happily and awkwardly took to the air, landing on Akane’s shoulder. He shifted from foot to foot in a clumsy shuffle, rubbing his face against Akane’s cheek.

             _“Gustav! Thank you.”_ he said. _“I can’t wait to get started!”_

 _“I can,_ ” Scorch muttered.


	4. Chapter Three: Viridian Forest - Route Two

Scorch; charmander, LVL 9. Hardy nature, mischievous.

Gustav; spearow, LVL 6. Jolly nature, good endurance.

 

            

             Walking with two pokémon out was far more stressful than Akane had anticipated. Scorch was still in a bad mood after Gustav had joined the party, and Gustav had a bad habit of flying just too far away if Akane wasn’t paying strict attention to him. She’d decided, after chasing the spearow down for the fourth time as they made their way through Viridian City, that she’d walk with one pokémon at a time. Scorch had objected, being the spoiled only pokémon he had been, but Akane held firm. Gustav had the first turn since they still needed to get used to each other.

             _“What’s that?_ ” Gustav hovered a few feet ahead, his wings flapping hard to stay in place. Akane frowned as she surveyed the scene, shushing the spearow when he continued to squawk.

             “I’m not sure,” she whispered, keeping a careful eye at the crowd of people as they began to disperse. He landed on her shoulder, and absently, Akane stroked the feathers on his chest.

             “ _Drunk_ in public again, can you imagine?”

             “That poor daughter of his!”

             “He never thinks of her when he’s ten deep, laying in the middle of the road and shouting about catching pokémon!”

             “My grandson, Huey? He was going with some friends of his to catch bugs in the forest –you know how boys are- and that old drunk wouldn’t let them pass until he’d made them watch him pretend to catch a weedle! Of course, it was his own pokémon the entire time-”

             “Wasn’t he a teacher at the Trainers’ School?”

             “Oh, ages ago maybe. Guess why they fired him?” The two old ladies tittered as they passed, the one gesturing taking a drink.

             Akane flushed, keeping her eyes firmly ahead as made her way down the road out of the city, purposely ignoring the young woman, not much older than she was, as she helped an older man towards a side street. To her utter horror, Gustav stared openly at the pair.

             _“What’s wrong with that guy, is he sick?_ ”

             “Shh! Yeah, kind of. I’ll explain later,” she said, still unable to look. Though she couldn’t remember his name, Akane vaguely remembered a teacher she’d had at the trainers’ school who’d been fired for drinking on the job. It was unlikely that he’d remember her after all this time, but she didn’t want to take the chance. Besides, it had to be mortifying for his daughter to have to take care of him and she didn’t want to embarrass her any more.

             Akane hurried down the path, Gustav fluttering just ahead, relieved when the streets broadened and the buildings began to grow less dense. She was eager to get through Viridian Forest before dark. She wasn’t afraid of bug types, but the idea of spending the night camping in the mysterious press of trees made her quicken her step. The way the branches interlocked together gave the forest a foreboding gloomy air, making her shudder at the mere thought.

             _“What’s that building? It looks like it’s guarding the forest._ ” Gustav said, landing abruptly on her shoulder.

             “The guardhouse?” Akane said, surveying the large brick building as they approached. “I guess it is kind of like a guardian, but it’s mostly to help trainers. A lot of newbies come up from the trainer school, and there’s a small dormitory upstairs in case anyone needs a rest and can’t make it to the next Pokémon Center. There’s usually a ranger or two on duty too, to keep an eye on the forest as well as the trainers.”

             _“Cool! I love the way humans care for each other._ ” Gustav chirped happily. Akane paused, biting back a giggle. It was strange hearing a pokémon talk about people the way Professor Oak did about pokémon.

             With Gustav still perched on her shoulder, Akane walked through the guardhouse, nodding at the ranger and the pretty girl he was chatting with as she passed. She swung the door open with a bit more solemnity than she had intended, gazing out into the semi-gloom of the forest. The heavy scent of the foliage hit her first, dark and green and mysterious, somehow reminding her of Professor Oak’s old books.

             “Ready to train?” she said, nudging the spearow.

             _“Can I eat the caterpie? Caterpie are so delicious-_ ”

             “If you have to, please don’t do it in front of me.” Akane said quickly, already feeling a bit sick at the thought. The circle of life was all well and good, but she was a staunch vegetarian and the thought of pokémon being eaten made her squeamish.

             _“All right,_ ” Gustav said with a grumpy sigh, then promptly flew ahead, disappearing around the corner of the winding path.

             “Hey! What did I tell you about wandering off?” she shouted, running after him. Still out of sight, Gustav let out a loud, triumphant caw. Groaning, Akane put on a burst of speed to catch up, concerned at what trouble he’d gotten into already. “What the actual-” She skidded to a stop, stunned by the wiggling yellow-green carpet that covered the path and the trees. Then she saw one red y-shaped feeler, and then another and another- swallowing, Akane pulled her Pokédex from her breast pocket.

             _“Caterpie, the worm pokémon._ ” The tinny voice spoke clearly, though she wasn’t sure she believed it. Were caterpie one of the types of pokémon that could swarm? Professor Oak had mentioned pokémon swarms before, though in an off-hand, casual way that lead Akane to believe that they were most likely exaggerations rather than things that actually happened. Dutifully, she began to scan as many of the pokémon as she could, pausing here and there to snap pictures with the Pokédex’s camera function.

             Gutstav, squawking excitedly, flickered above the mass of caterpie like lightening, striking with precision. He wasn’t the only predator to take advantage of the massing bug pokémon: several pidgey were also feeding on them, too consumed with their prey to pay any attention to Akane or to Gustav. She swallowed thickly, averting her eyes as two of the pidgey ripped a caterpie in half and swallowed their morsels with joyous grunts.   

             _“Boss, you better close your eyes!_ ” Gustav called as he flew by.

             “On it,” she muttered, screwing them shut as she continued to take pictures for the professor.

 

 

             Hours later, Akane and Scorch sat on a fallen log off one side of the forest path, sharing a box of pocky as she finished her notes on the swarm. They’d cleared the majority of the forest quickly after the caterpie had dispersed, mostly due to her desire to get as far away from the gruesome scene as quickly as she could. Now that she’d recovered enough from watching the feeding frenzy, she could write up a report for the professor.

             Between the caterpie and the other trainers exploring Viridian Forest, Gustav had caught up to Scorch’s level and then some; thankfully giving her an excuse to put him back in his ball and walk with Scorch. It would probably be a little while longer before she could look at Gustav normally again, however. She’d done her best not to let the spearow see her reaction; one of the most enduring lessons from Professor Oak’s research was the brutality of nature, and her squeamishness in the face of it wasn’t Gustav’s fault. He was simply following his instincts.

             _“How much longer are we going to sit here?_ ” Scorch whined, chewing restlessly on the chocolatey end of a piece of pocky. Akane frowned, looking up from her notebook, her frown deepening as she noted the plain ends scattered willy-nilly on the ground. Scorch shoved the rest of the pocky in his mouth guiltily.

             “I’m almost done with my notes, so keep your tail on. Besides, I did want to try and find a pikachu.” she said. “And don’t think we’re leaving before you pick all of that up.”

             _“C’mon! The plain parts are gross!”_

             “So what? Either be an adult and eat them or put them back in the box. You can’t litter!”

             _“There are lots of pokémon less discerning than I am in the forest. Something will eat them._ ” Scorch said flippantly as he fished out another stick of pocky. There was a rustling in the underbrush, and the two of them turned towards the noise. Akane bit back a cry of surprise as a pikachu approached, completely ignoring them as it nibbled Scorch’s discarded pocky. Grabbing several of the sticks, it sat placidly behind the log they sat on and began stuffing its face. It –she, Akane amended, noting the heart-shaped dip in the tail- seemed at the peak of health; shiny fur, glistening electric sacs, upright twitchy ears. Perhaps a bit on the chubby side, but that was nothing a little training couldn’t fix.

             “Um, hi there,” Akane said quietly, doing her best not to make any sudden movements and scare off the pokémon off. Wild pikachu were notably skittish.

             _“You’re talking to me?_ ” the pikachu said, still chewing.

             “Yep.” Akane smiled, motioning Scorch to stay silent. “I’m Akane, and I’m a pokémon trainer.”

             _“Well, duh._ ” the pikachu snickered, snatching up the last of the pocky and shoving it in her mouth. _“Didn’t know that trainers ate so good. Hey firebreath, got any more of this stuff?”_

 _“Sure! Here, try one with chocolate on it._ ” Scorch said happily, leaning over to hand the pikachu an unbitten stick of pocky. She sniffed it gingerly as she took it, looking almost hesitant as she took a bite. Her uncertainty dissolved quickly into a dreamy sigh, and she quickly shoved the rest of it into her mouth.

             _“That was the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my life!_ ” she said, flopping to her back, her feet kicking lightly in the air as she rolled from side to side.

             “If you come with me, you’ll get to eat more of it. And all kinds of delicious food, too.” Akane said. The pikachu sat bolt upright.

             _“Are you serious? Food like that whenever I want?”_

             “Sure!” If a little bribery was all it took to get a pikachu, she was amenable to it. “But I am a trainer, remember. If you come with us, you’ll have to pull your weight before you think about food.”

             _“Feh, battling is fun- I love zapping things! Can I come with you?_ ” the pikachu said eagerly.

             “Definitely!” Akane said with a grin. “This is Scorch, and I have a spearow named Gustav too. He’s, um, resting at the moment, tired out from training.”

             _“Nice to meet you!”_ Scorch gave her a toothy grin, holding out another stick of pocky. The pikachu eagerly ran forward and snatched it, inhaling it with inhuman speed. Akane was impressed by the complete lack of waste; there wasn’t a crumb that escaped her mouth despite her frenzied chewing.

             _“Battles and all the delicious food I can eat- I’m super stoked to meet you guys too!”_ The pikachu grinned, flicking her tail as small sparks escaped her cheeks.

             “We should give you a name, don’t you think?”

             _“A name?”_ she said, cocking her head.

             _“How about ‘Pocky’?”_ Scorch snickered, watching as she took another bit of the plain ends he’d rejected and munched it. Akane grimaced, giving him a disproving look.

             “Absolutely not! I’m not naming my pikachu after candy!”

             _“Pocky? Is that what this is called?”_ the pikachu said, staring almost reverently at the box Scorch held.

             “Ah, yes, but-”

             _“That has to be it! Pocky is the most perfect food, so it’s got to be the perfect name!”_ she said eagerly, her paws curling into fists. Scorch tossed the box at her as he fell off the log, tears in his eyes as he howled with laughter.

             “Are you absolutely sure? It’s hard to change your name once you decide on it,” Akane said.

             _“Oh totally!”_ Pocky grinned at her before sticking as much of her face into the box as she could. Akane groaned, rubbing her temple. She took pride in her nicknaming abilities, or at least, she’d always planned on doing so. Her father had such great names for his pokémon: Scoville the charizard, Ohmar the jolteon, Valaria the dragonite . . . And now she had a pikachu named after food. 

             “Well . . . as long as you like it.” she said with a relenting smile. That was the most important thing, after all.

 

 

             After training and getting to know Pocky for a few hours in the forest, she and Akane finally crossed through the guardhouse to Route Two. It was a short path with a large patch of tall grass nestled between a corner of trees, with a few of Pewter’s stone-grey roofs peeking above the tree line. The grass rustled, and a pidgey burst into the air, squawking loudly as it flew off.

             _“You want me to zap it?_ ” Pocky asked, her eyes focused on the other pokémon.

             “No, I think you’ve worked hard enough for today.” Akane said, grinning as she reached down to scratch behind the pikachu’s ears. Training Pocky went more smoothly than it had with Gustav, though Akane attributed that to the lack of caterpie guts being flung in her direction. The pikachu was adept at zapping things as she liked to say, and was laidback and obedient even without a food bribe.

             Catching sight of a fallen tree styled into a rudimentary bench at the side of the path, Akane headed for it, motioning Pocky to follow. She sat, hesitating briefly before releasing both Scorch and Gustav. Scorch, although a bit jealous after suddenly gaining two teammates, was comfortable with Pocky, but Gustav’s reaction worried her somewhat. She didn’t know if he’d had any encounters with pikachu before though he’d told her he’d come to Viridian Forest to hunt in the past. It was well known that pokémon were instinctually fearful of pokémon with advantageous typing; it’d taken Scorch well over a year to be comfortable with Shellie, despite knowing and trusting Midori as much as he trusted her.

             The two glanced around briefly, surveying the area, and Gustav started at Pocky sitting so nonchalantly by Akane’s feet, though Scorch watched them with an air of disinterest.

             _“A pikachu!_ ” he said, fluffing out his feathers defensively.

             “Don’t worry Gustav, this is Pocky. She’s part of the team now.”

             _“Nice to meet you!_ ” Pocky smiled, faint sparks lighting her cheek sacs. Gustav eyed her nervously, but did his best to be friendly.

             _“Yeah, you too. I’m Gustav.”_ he said, deflating his feathers and taking a cautious step closer. Akane sighed, relieved at the lack of tension. Clearly, Gustav wasn’t incredibly comfortable with Pocky yet, but as far as first meetings went, she was fairly satisfied.

             _“We’re pretty close to Pewter City, aren’t we?_ ” Scorch said, plopping heavily on the ground in front of her. Akane nodded.

             “Yeah, it’s just past those trees up there.”

             _“What are we waiting for then? It’s almost dark._ ” He nodded westward, and Akane glanced over her shoulder, surprised to see the sun completely hidden beneath the trees, riotous shades of orange and red bleeding with the deepening blue of the sky and the sparse clouds. She hadn’t noticed after the gloom of Viridian Forest, but it was later and darker than she expected.

             “Well, I don’t want to camp with a Pokémon Center so close, but I think we should have a meeting before heading into the city.”

             _“About what?_ ” Scorch said, snorting smoke.

             “About Brock. I don’t know how much either of you know about battling,” She paused, gesturing at Gustav and Pocky, who had settled comfortably on opposite sides of Scorch. “But Scorch and I have been prepping for a while for our first gym battle. Brock is the Leader of Pewter City. He’s a master of the rock type, and frankly, that’s not great for us. There aren’t any pure rock types native to Kanto, and although there are rumours that Brock uses some of the fossil pokémon that have recently been discovered, his go-to pokémon are all rock/ground types- which you’re all weak to.”

             _“But_ ,” Scorch cut in, focusing on Gustav and Pocky. _“Since we don’t have any Gym Badges yet, Brock won’t use any of his really strong pokémon against us. Akane and I have watched some of his recent battles on tv, and he’s mostly using two pokémon against newbie trainers, and focuses more on using his pokémon’s high defense over exploiting type advantages.”_

 _“Wow, you guys are really intense._ ” Pocky said, laughing. _“I’m not really into all that strategy stuff, but I bet you’ll think of a good plan.”_ Gustav chirped in agreement, nodding.

             _“I’m kind of nervous thinking about fighting rock types; I ran into a geodude before and its rockslide really hurt. But I think you’re a good trainer, and I’m sure we can beat this Brock guy together!_ ” Akane’s eyes blurred, but she grinned wildly at Gustav’s words. There was something magical about the bond between a trainer and their pokémon. Many people believed it to be a side effect of using a pokéball, but Akane didn’t think so. Growing up, she was a bit privileged; she had been quite young when her father had given her Scorch’s egg -in fact, the day he hatched was one of her earliest memories. And despite not using a pokéball with him until she officially got her trainer’s license when she was ten, they had always been closer than a girafarig’s two heads, as her mother liked to say. There was something symbiotic between people and pokémon, something that was strengthened when they shared a common goal, and Akane doubted that using pokéballs affected it much one way or the other.

“Actually- we’ve been working on something.” Akane met Scorch’s eyes and the two of them grinned. “Recently, Brock developed a new move called ‘bide’. According to all the articles I’ve read, it’s a technique of storing power from an enemy pokémon’s attacks, while relying on your defense to take them. Basically, the pokémon using it doesn’t do anything for a few turns, but if it’s hit with any moves –physical or special- it uses that damage for its next attack. It’s pretty powerful, and I’ve seen it decimate some pokémon that were centimeters away from winning. But there’s a way we can exploit it.” She leant forward, whispering as her pokémon gathered closer. “Brock only uses one certified trainer at a time- he likes to keep things simple, especially with newbies. He gets a lot of them with the school so close after all. Anyway, whoever that is, it should be a reasonably easy win for any of you. As for Brock, it’s all about patience.”

             _“Patience and special attacks,_ ” Scorch added with a smirk.

             “Yep.” Akane chuckled. “I hope neither of you take this the wrong way, but I think Scorch should be the one to face his main pokémon. It’ll probably be one of his onixes, though I’m not a hundred percent sure. No matter which pokémon he ends up using, I think we can beat bide using two things: growl and patience. When Brock uses bide, Scorch will use growl, lowering his attack but not actually doing any damage. Then, when it tries to use the stored power, it’ll fail. Scorch’s ember won’t be very effective so even if we mistime it once or twice, it shouldn’t hurt too badly.”

             _“Does it have to be Scorch? I want to try!_ ” Gustav said eagerly. Akane hid a smile; hadn’t he just told her he was nervous to fight rock types? His confidence in her pleased her though.

             “Gustav, you have great physical moves, but rock pokémon have ridiculous physical defense. Their special defense isn’t something to sneeze at, but there’s more of a chance there.”

             _“My zaps are special moves, aren’t they? I could beat them!”_

             “Brock mostly uses rock/ground types, though. Electricity won’t affect them.” Akane said. Pocky frowned, her nose twitching. “But I promise if he uses something that isn’t immune to electric attacks I’ll sub you in, okay?”

             _“Okay!_ ” Pocky said, smiling happily. Scorch snorted, but didn’t say anything. She hoped he wasn’t offended by her offering Pocky a chance to beat Brock in his place, though she was confident enough he knew she wanted to beat their first gym leader together.

             _“What if he doesn’t use bide, though?_ ” Gustav said, cocking his head to one side.

             “It might be a bit more difficult, but I think the same strategy should work. Brock prefers defense, so whittling away at his pokémon’s HP while doing our best to avoid getting hit is the best idea. Any objections?” Akane asked, looking between her three pokémon. Without hesitation, they shook their heads.

             _“We trust you, Akane._ ” Pocky smiled, and Scorch and Gustav nodded eagerly.

             “Great! Akane laughed, feeling a mixture of relief and gratification. “Let’s get some rest at the Pokémon Center and take on Brock first thing in the morning!” she said, raising her fist in the air as she stood. Scorch blew smoke vigorously through his nostrils in agreement, and Gustav fluttered into the air with several confident caws as Pocky shot off small sparks. As the four of them headed towards the city, Akane wondered why she’d let herself wait so long before starting her Gym Challenge. There was nothing in the world better than being a pokémon trainer.


	5. Pewter City

Scorch; charmander, LVL 15. Hardy nature, mischievous.

Gustav; spearow, LVL 15. Jolly nature, good endurance.

Pocky; pikachu, LVL 14. Lax nature, loves to eat.

 

 

             Pewter was a picturesque town with wide streets and pretty gardens, the greenery working well with the mandated stone-grey roofs. Despite having a smaller population, Viridian City felt bigger in comparison, Akane thought, though she chalked it up to Pewter’s more residential atmosphere. Viridian City was home to the Trainers’ School, Viridian University, several official League buildings, and of course, Giovanni’s long abandoned gym. As the seat of the Indigo League, it gave off an air of importance that Pewter City, with its quaint houses and scattered shops, lacked.

             It reminded her of home. There was a decidedly more of a bustle than in Pallet Town, but the small town friendliness was the same. She was a stranger, but people still smiled and waved as they passed on the sidewalk, a few even wishing her good luck against Brock. Their affability soothed the coil of nerves in her belly she didn’t want to acknowledge as she grew closer.

             As she stopped in front of the gym, Akane told herself she wasn’t anxious about the battle- and she wasn’t, not really. Type disadvantages aside, she knew she could win. She might have started her pokémon journey late and wasn’t been as diligent about training with Scorch as she should have been through the years, she hadn’t stopped loving pokémon battles. Akane devoured books and magazines devoted to the art of pokémon battle (her relationship with Professor Oak even allowing her access to some more advanced journals at VU), watched almost nothing but gym battles on tv, and strategized with Scorch and Midori about hypothetical battles. Working with the Professor for as long as she had helped her too; the countless hours spent researching pokémon gave her more insight to their behavior, giving her nothing more than a microscopic advantage if she was honest with herself, though it made her feel like she was more in-tune with pokémon than most other people.

             It was the prospect of beginning that worried her. Last night, buoyed by her pokémon’s confidence, Akane had questioned why she’d waited but now, standing alone in front of the imposing grey doors of the Pewter City Gym, she questioned why she’d left Pallet at all. There would be no turning back once she went inside. She knew once she fought that first battle, it’d eventually come out that she was Akane Auberon, daughter of the Indigo League Champion, _finally_ following in her father’s footsteps after all these years. There would be reporters, there would be comparisons, there would be _questions_. Why had she waited so long? Why now? How did it feel to be Jack’s daughter? Did she think he’d be proud of her?

             Akane didn’t want to deal with that. She knew part of the reason she wanted to challenge all the Gyms had to do with her father and her need to make him proud by following in his footsteps, but she wanted that to be private. And it wasn’t just about her father either. She was doing it for herself, because _she_ wanted to win. She didn’t want to be hounded by questions, or pidgey-holed into the role of Jack Auberon’s grieving daughter, bravely taking on the Gym Challenge to honor his memory. But it was too late to turn back now, she thought. Midori expected more of her than this half-hearted cowardice. Her parents, the Professor- hell, her pokémon deserved more. If nothing else, she wanted to be a trainer they could admire and respect. And that meant facing her fears and taking that first step. Forcing a deep breath, she pushed open the doors and stepped into the gym.

             The interior was a drab greyish brown wood paneling, with a slightly darker wood flooring that surrounded the main area of the gym. Large rocks protruded from a tightly packed dirt floor, some rounded, some wild and jagged, most of them reaching high above the average person’s height. It was all but empty, Akane noted with relief. She’d started out early to avoid other trainers, and it looked like she’d succeeded. Brock sat on a platform on the far end of the gym, chatting in low tones with a group of his certified trainers, most of them campers from the looks of it. They glanced up in her direction as she entered, and smiling, Brock stood, offering her a wave.

             “Good morning, trainer! Here to challenge me?” he called out, his words echoing around the rocks. Akane only nodded, unable to find her voice. Brock grinned, motioning her closer. “Great! Jerry and I still need to set up a little, but Liam can check you in while you wait.” One of the campers, looking mildly dejected, jogged up to join her at the front.

             “Morning,” he said, gesturing her to follow him to the reception counter next to the door, which she’d somehow missed. “I’ll just need your trainer license for a minute.” Still unable to speak, Akane nodded, and pulled the card from the breast pocket of her short-sleeved jacket, the solid weight of the Pokédex smoothing her nerves as her fingers brushed against it. Liam scanned the license, his eyebrows raising as her name popped up on his computer screen. “Auberon? Are you-”

             “No relation,” Akane croaked out hurriedly, snatching back the card and stuffing it back in her pocket. Liam nodded knowingly, turning back to the computer.

             “This is your first Gym Challenge, huh? Don’t be nervous, it’ll be fun! Okay, there’s that . . . Do you want me to announce your full name, or just a nickname?”

             “What?” Akane said, surprised. She hadn’t realized she had a choice. Perhaps she could fly under the radar longer using a nickname. No one really called her anything but Akane though, except Midori. “Um, you know what? Just Red is fine,”

             “Alrighty, Red it is!” Liam punched a few keys on the computer. “Are you good to go, or do you want to take a minute before you start?”

             “No, I’m good.” Akane –Red- said decisively. Liam grinned, giving her a thumbs up as he picked up the speaker.

             “Presenting the pokémon trainer Red, challenging Leader Brock for her first badge!” His words reverberated through her and into the open air of the gym. Adjusting her hat, Red walked to the gym floor, pausing briefly at the twin statues that guarded the entrance. One was older, worn with the patina of many hands touching the guardian pokémon depicted and its wooden base. Countless names were carved into it, though her eyes easily found the one she was looking for. Right below the plaque that read Pewter City Pokémon Gym, a sloppy hand had carved ‘Jack’ with a slightly tidier ‘Sam’ beneath it. Inhaling deeply, Red reached out, brushing her fingers along her father’s name.

             He’d been the one to start the fad of winning trainers carving their name into the statues, though it hadn’t really taken off until he’d become Champion. Many had been replaced in the decades since he’d beaten the gyms, some leaders swapping out the statues when they got too cluttered, though some leaders had fixed them at the time, irritated with what they called vandalism. Red took it as a good omen that the first gym she challenged had her father’s mark still visible.

             “Stop right there, kid!” Red paused, trying not to laugh at the camper. He’d jumped out dramatically from between two rocks to block her path, but she couldn’t quite take him calling her kid seriously despite his earnest face; he was probably a good foot shorter and several years younger than she was. “You’re still light years from facing Brock!” Without hesitation (or acknowledging her muffled giggles), he threw a pokéball, a diglett appearing in a burst of red light.

             Red said nothing, though she raised her eyebrows at the ground type pokémon. Wordlessly, she reached for Gustav’s pokéball and released him. She couldn’t be sure that a diglett wouldn’t know any rock type moves, but Gustav would definitely be immune to its ground attacks- if it knew any at its presumably low level. Taking out the Pokédex as quickly as she could, Red wasted no time before launching her first attack. The camper seemed surprised when Gustav attacked without a word from her, but recovered almost instantly.

             “Miles, use scratch!”

             _“Psh, easy!_ ” Gustav crowed, flying to evade the diglett, and delivered another peck as Red pushed the button on the Pokédex’s screen. The camper and his pokémon seemed startled by Red’s continued but silent attacks, and couldn’t quite recover from the surprise.

             _“I can still fight,_ ” the diglett said as his trainer reached for his pokéball, though his little brown body was covered in marks from Gustav’s beak.

             “You did a good job Miles, but let’s give Sandy a turn!” The camper ground his teeth, returning him to his ball before releasing his second pokémon, a sandshrew. Red swallowed the snarky comment about being at the wrong gym- it might be funny in the moment, but she didn’t want to be disrespectful.

             _“Hey, hey, can I stay out? I promise I can beat this one too!_ ” Gustav said eagerly, flapping his wings hard to stay in the air. Red smiled.

             “I know you can Gustav. Let’s do it,” she said softly, and pressed ‘peck’. Without missing a beat, Gustav flew down to attack the sandshrew before her trainer could react.

             “Use sand attack to blind it, the hit it with a scratch!” the camper shouted. Gustav managed to dodge the cloud of dust the sandshrew kicked up at him, but caught the full brunt of her claws as he pecked at her again. Red kept an eye on his health bar on the Pokédex’s screen, but she wasn’t worried despite Gustav taking a few hits. He was faster than the sandshrew, and his wings kept the accuracy depleting sand attacks at bay. Soon, the sandshrew tottered weakly, though she held herself in a battle ready pose.

             “It’s okay Sandy, you did good,” the camper said, forcing a smile as he recalled his pokémon. As soon as she was in her ball, his smile turned into a grimace. “Darn! Light years isn’t time, it measures distance! Victory is yours, challenger.”

             _“I told you I could win_ ,” Gustav preened, landing heavily on her shoulder. Red smiled, scratching him beneath his beak.

             “You did a good job.” she said, and gave him a final scritch before returning him to his pokéball. “Thank you for the battle.” She bowed. The camper clenched his fists, but bowed in return before holding out her prize money.

             “Thank you. Go face Brock.” Red nodded, accepting her prize, and turned towards the back of the gym as she tucked the money and the Pokédex into the breast pocket of her jacket.

             Brock stood on the platform, arms crossed against his chest, a faint smile visible as he watched her approach with heavy lidded eyes. He didn’t move a muscle when she stopped in front of the podium, and Red wondered if she should take the initiative and climb up beside him.

             “I’m Brock, Pewter City’s Gym Leader! I believe in rock-hard defense and determination, that’s why all my pokémon are the rock type. Do you still want to challenge me?” he shouted, still not moving. Red gave him a definitive nod and stepped up to the platform, Brock’s smile widening as she did. “Fine then.” He paused a moment, watching her clamber up to stand in front of him. As Red settled herself, she could see he was practically vibrating with excitement. “Show me your best!” Grinning eagerly, he took a pokéball from his belt and threw it.

             _“Let’s do this!_ ” A geodude materialized in the center of the platform, slamming his two rocky fists together. Red smiled, and released Scorch without a word. She retrieved the Pokédex, flipping it open and hitting ‘ember’ in one fluid motion.

             “Defense curl!” The geodude nodded, crossing his arms across his face as Scorch’s flames reached him. Scorch landed a direct hit regardless, and Red did her best not to react. Brock undoubtedly knew raising his pokémon’s physical defense wouldn’t protect them from special attacks. Brock continued to spam defense curl however, occasionally throwing a tackle at Scorch as he spat small flames nearly non-stop at the geodude.

             Eventually, faintly blackened and obviously woozy, the geodude launched a final tackle at Scorch. He tried to dodge it, but the rocky pokémon hit him squarely in the side before crashing weakly to the floor.

             “Are you okay?” Red called out, concerned with the amount of damage Scorch had taken. He wasn’t critical –not yet at least- but his HP was lower than she would’ve liked.

             _“I’m fine!_ ” Scorch huffed, giving her a dirty look over his shoulder. _“Even if you have to take me out later, I’m the only one who can get his pokémon weak enough to beat.”_

             “Ahhh-! I know you’re right but I’m not leaving you out a minute longer than I need to.” Red said, flushing when she realized Brock had already recalled his geodude and was watching them. He eyed her carefully as he settled the pokéball back on his belt, pausing as he detached a second one.

             “You okay to go on?” Brock said with a lazy smile, holding the pokéball in his hand.

             “We’re good.” Red said firmly.

             “Let’s continue then!” He tossed it into the air, and the large, snakey bulk of an onix materialized between them. Red had never seen an onix outside of a textbook, and was momentarily awed in spite of herself. It was the largest pokémon she’d ever seen in person. According to the Professor’s data, onix averaged nearly nine meters in length and Brock’s was at least that big, if not longer. About half of the onix lay spread on the floor but the half that reared up towered over the both of them, the tip of his horn nearly brushing the ceiling. Like his trainer, he radiated confidence, though the onix seemed less excitable. His gaze was all business as he fixated on Scorch.

             _“This is it,_ ” Scorch breathed, the flame on his tail burning brighter as he took a few cautious steps closer, his eyes locked with the enemy pokémon. Impulsively, Red hit ‘ember’; deciding the opportunity to stoke his enthusiasm was worth the risk. He rushed forward, spitting fire that seemed to reflect off of the onix’s stony sides.

             “Tackle.” Brock called out, the word barely out of his mouth before the onix struck. Red bit her lip as his horn clipped Scorch’s tail, but had him throw another ember as the onix pulled back. It wasn’t very effective but she told herself not to worry, that they’d planned on whittling down his HP slowly anyway. “Halvard, use bide!”

             Frantically pressing growl, Red bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from grinning as the onix stood stock still, glowing dimly. It was a beautiful heady feeling to have her predictions come true, though she knew she couldn’t let herself get too cocky. Brock frowned as Scorch growled at his onix again, Halvard’s glow flaring briefly before disappearing. Red practically punched the screen of the Pokédex in her haste. Scorch blew small flames at the other pokémon, snickering as his rocky side smoked but didn’t burn.

             “Hal, again.” Brock said, crossing his arms once more. His jovial excitement from the beginning of the battle had faded, replaced by a rigid expression that Red hoped meant he was taking her seriously.  

             _“If you say so_ ,” the onix grumbled, motionless as he began to glow again. They repeated the process –growl to nullify bide before sneaking in an ember- several more times before the onix began to visibly weaken. Red couldn’t believe that Brock had used nothing else, but part of her liked to think that she was the first trainer to counter his brand new move that way, or at least, the first one without any badges. Fantasies of unparalleled battle prowess aside, Red knew she had exploited the fact that she appeared to be a complete newbie. She felt a little guilty taking advantage of Brock’s leniency to rookie trainers, but he had nearly a decade of experience as a Gym Leader, she reasoned. He should be ready for anything.

             “Halvard, come back.” Red frowned, her eyebrows knitting together as she watched the onix disappear. From what little she could see on the Pokédex, he still had a good chunk of HP left. Brock had never used three pokémon in a battle with a trainer with no badges, so she doubted he was switching out. “I can see you’re confused.” Brock said, reattaching Halvard’s pokéball to his belt.

             “Admittedly, a little.” she said. Brock laughed.

             “We could’ve battled longer, but I saw all I needed to see.” He started to come closer, but before he’d taken two steps, Scorch’s startled cry made both of them look.

             _“Akane, watch!_ ” Smoke billowed out of his nostrils as he began to glow. Faintly at first, like when the onix had used bide, but it quickly grew brighter and brighter, flashing regularly, until he shone so brilliantly Red had to close her eyes. When she opened them again, the Scorch she’d known had disappeared. She squealed, rushing to pull him into a hug.

             “You evolved! Oh my god!” Red laughed euphorically, ignoring the heat coming off her brand-new charmeleon’s tail as well as the nearly bone-crushing hug he gave her.

             _“I’ve been waiting for this for so long-! Won’t be long before I’m a charizard, you watch!”_

             “Ha, I bet you will!” she said, straightening, and gave him a rough noogie right at the base of his newly grown horn. Brock cleared his throat, and Red started, feeling her face flame. “I’m so sorry, this is the first time any of my pokémon evolved, and-”

             “Don’t worry about it.” Brock closed the distance between them, motioning her to hold out her hand. “Pokémon trainer Red! As proof of your victory, here’s the Boulder Badge.” He pressed a small stone-grey octagon into her palm, the metal feeling warm even through her fingerless glove. Grinning, Red closed her fingers around it.

             “Thank you.” she said, outwardly calm and assured despite her frantically beating heart. Her first gym badge.  
             “You earned it! It’s been a long time since I had such an exciting battle with a rookie trainer.” He smiled knowingly at her. “You were using Professor Oak’s Pokédex, weren’t you?”

             “I see Midori’s already been here,” Red said with a laugh, pushing up the brim of her hat.

             “Oak’s grandson? Yeah, he came through yesterday. Beat me a little easier than you did, but he had a type advantage.” Brock said. “You made better use of the Pokédex, though. Strategy like that will serve you well if you plan on collecting the rest of the badges.”

             “It feels a bit like cheating,” Red admitted. Brock snorted, waving her off.

             “No way! You’re not the first trainer to take advantage of alternate forms of communication. I’ve seen people use hand signals, whistles, even Unovan Sign Language.”

             “You’re right,” Red said, rubbing her chin with her hand. “There was that trainer two years ago that nearly beat Lance, Satoshi I think, that used a modified clicker to direct his pokémon.”

             “Wow, you really know your stuff!” Brock said, impressed. Red waved him off, blushing faintly as she busied herself with fastening her new badge on the belt slung over her left hip.

             “I’m just a battle otaku, that’s all!”

             “Aren’t we all? Well, maybe not me; I’m rock type otaku.” Brock said with a chuckle. “One more thing before I let you go.”

             “What is it?”

             “First off,” He paused, reaching into one of his pockets, and handed her a small bundle of prize money which she quickly pocketed. “But I’d like to give you this as well. It’s a bit of a tradition among us leaders to give exceptional challengers a TM.”

             “Wow, thank you.” Red said, flustered at the thought that Brock considered her exceptional.

             “That TM contains bide. The pokémon using it absorbs damage for two turns before paying it back double- but I have a feeling you already knew that.” He smiled as Red laughed sheepishly.

             “Caught me,” She bowed, more to cover her embarrassment than courtesy. “Thank you for the battle.”

             “Thank _you_.” Brock returned her bow.

 

             Waving an awkward goodbye, Red made her way to the front of the gym, Scorch trotting behind her. Again, she stopped at the twin statues guarding the entrance to the gym floor. This time, she looked at the fresher statue, smiling when she saw Midori’s name carved into the wood. He’d put it on the front below the plaque, but left a decent space between. Red blinked quickly, feeling her eyes sting. She hadn’t thought he remembered their old agreement from trainer school, but he must have. Of course, she’d always known he wanted to carve his name where his father carved his just as much as she did.

             _“You’re going to do it, aren’t you?_ ” Scorch said. Red nodded, and took a small penknife from the back pocket of her jeans. She flicked it open, and bent in front of the statue. There was a brief moment of deliberation on what name she should use, but she quickly made her choice. _“Red? What’s with that?_ ” Scorch frowned at her, blowing a small puff of smoke in her face.

             “I want to make my own name for myself.” she said quietly. “Dad’s a huge part of why I’m doing this, but . . . I need to go my own way too.”

             _“I understand._ ” Scorch said, coming up beside her and nudging her arm with his head.


End file.
